LSU is on the verge of a crisis that will damage the university for many years. The crisis is not related to an underperforming football team. The crisis is the purposeful loss of standards that lowers the value of degrees earned by future graduates and worsens the reputation of LSU.
Why this assertion? First and foremost, LSU is now test-optional. ACT scores are not a required component of the admission process. Students with lousy test scores are admitted “holistically” using a potpourri of high school grades, essays, etc. They are, statistically, the “less smart” students. Painfully, LSU asserts that ACT scores at LSU are rising, but that’s deceitful because they only count the students who want their scores added to the database. Overall, the incoming credentials of the student body are getting worse.
And the outcome of these inferior students being admitted? I know professors at LSU who care that an LSU degree means something. Typically, these “gatekeepers” act as a filter, preventing people who don’t deserve a degree from marching forward. I’m told by these gatekeepers that inferior students put downward pressure on expectations. Unfortunately, there’s incentive to allow poor performers to pass. After all, graduation rates are a metric valued above quality.
LSU upper management seems proud that enrollment has grown and the student body is more diverse. But pressure to lower standards to accommodate lower-quality students will soon hurt the hard-earned good reputation of LSU. Once lost, it takes a very long time to recover. The endorsement I used to give LSU as a great value is now less enthusiastic.
In conclusion, mandatory test scores must be reinstated if LSU is to follow a positive corrective course as a solid academic institution. I suggest a minimum ACT of 24 for nonathletes.
KEVIN W. KELLY
Baton Rouge
